Nosebleed
by BrandonLenox
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto is one of many ninja that work for Konohagakure no Sato. Owner of an active, hyper-cognitive brain - a side effect of the development of a certain pair of eyes - he is constantly tormented by his own intelligence and over-thought. With little more than that, he strives to survive in the shinobi world./ Hyper - Realistic World/ Intelligent Characters/ No God Chars
1. Chapter 1

"**Shikamaru Nara."**

Twelve years old. Approximately one hundred and fifty-one centimeters tall. Weight, fourty-two kilograms. Blood type AB. Misunderstood and unknown genius. Estimated IQ is well over two hundred. Well-known for his lack of enthusiasm and drive to act or perform any kind of task.

"**Yamanaka Ino."**

Twelve years old. Approximately one hundred and fourty-nine centimeters tall. Weight, thirty-eight kilograms, suffering of mild anorexia. Blood type B. Capable Ninjutsu user. Well-versed in general Botany. Fearsome Taijutsu skills. Potential near null due to obsession over physical appearance and romantic life, leaving little time for her development as a ninja.

"**Akimichi Chouji."**

Twelve years old. Approximately one hundred and fifty one centimeters tall. Weight...

The final introductions - maybe renaming them into extroductions would be more fitting - were excruciatingly tedious for one of the various Genin-to-be in the room.

Uzumaki Naruto did not see the world the way his "friends" did, for two very simple reasons. One, he was a highly intelligent villager of Konohagakure no Sato, who occasionally experienced mind-numbing migraines and nose-bleeds just from the hyper activity that his brain both suffered and benefited from. These dull, slow-paced, absolutely useless official traditions and celebrations were quite literally a waste of time for a person who had the amount of information he had stored in his mind. He knew the birth dates, blood types, weights, heights, personalities, histories, qualities and disadvantages of every single person in the whole building, not counting the fact that his long-term eidetic memory had burned every single physical detail into his brain. He had known who he'd be partnered with from the very start, so why bother sit through the process?

Second, the blonde boy's eyes were much, much different and more complex than the average Genin's pitiful globes. The average human could see in perfect detail up to around six meters. At night, an average human can make out the faint glint of a candle that is up to fourty-eight kilometers away. If the object is bright enough, a human could detect light that originates from up to 2.6 million light-years away, with the Andromeda galaxy being the prime example. Putting it in an extremely rough way, this did not even begin to tap into the abilities that the Uzumaki boy's eyes possessed.

Thus, one could begin to try and understand just how bored out the boy was.

"**Team 7, composed of Haruno Sakura."**

_Uchiha Sasuke._

"**Uchiha Sasuke."**

_Uzumaki Naruto._

"**Uzumaki Naruto."**

Knowing exactly what one would say, when they would say it, how and with which tone was both amusing and incredibly frustrating for the young Naruto. These simple, normally satisfying parts of life were no longer so. They were simply too predictable with nowhere near enough variables to keep interesting in any possible way. Why they would group the three top students of the year was no mystery. They needed a squad specifically created for increasing the mission success rate and improving the village's image in the Chuunin Exams, which were conveniently taking place a couple of months after the graduation. The better the Exams' participants, the more interesting they were, the more people that came to see them and would, in a vast array of ways fuel Konohagakure no Sato's economy.

It was really all quite sim-

"**Stop it."**

He rose his right eye, his gray hoodie's hood over his blond hair and both of his legs pulled up, with his feet planted on the chair's surface along with his bottom, keeping him in a fetal position. According to him, it helped him concentrate. As he looked over his right shoulder, he saw Hinata looking down at him, her long, navy-blue hair framing her face in the traditional "hime" cut.

"**You're shaking and your nose is bleeding. Stop overthinking. You know what that does to you."** She whispered to him, her two blank eyes, looking through him with the ever-active Byakugan. As he rose his right index and middle fingers from his mouth to his nose, he confirmed that he was indeed bleeding from the right.

Ahh. Hyuuga. So insightful. Anyone who truly knew a clan member was aware of the fact that their omni-present, barrier-breaking sight and awareness of their surroundings was in no way due to their actual bloodline. A true Hyuuga, Byakugan active or not, never misses the slightest of details. Masters of finding subterfuge and answers in the most insignificant of changes or mutations in an environment or situation.

She was right, though. He did know that overthinking things was in no way healthy for him. One of the worst parts of having his eyes and their abilities were that his brain could just barely keep up with the information he kept receiving. Migraines were ever-present. Nosebleeds could easily appear if he were to push himself harder than normal. It was somewhat of a curse, punishing him for using his one and only blessing.

"**It's just a bit of blood."**

"**A bit is too much. You know that."**

"**...fine..."**

"**You are to meet with your soon-to-be sensei, Hatake Kakashi, outside now. You may come receive your forehead protector."**

The blonde boy outstretched his legs, one by one, setting them down on the floor before rising up, hood still on and his hands in his pockets. His full attire was comprised of a white shirt with Konohagakure's leaf on its chest, under his gray and black checkered hoodie, a pair of tight, yet flexible black chino pants and black steel-toed boots.

As he walked, his two new teammates made their own way down, each with their own expression. Sakura, with her care-free smile, pride and confidence in the illusion that everything would be fine now that she was in a team with her precious Sasuke. Sasuke himself, who bore the expression of complete indifference, and then Naruto, with a pensive look on his face.

Copy Ninja? He had to admit, even though it had been pretty much right in his face, he would never have guessed that the white-haired Jounin would become their mentor. Still, it did make sense. He was more than apt in all three Shinobi Arts, carried a large amount of knowledge over Doujutsu, which would apply to both Sasuke and Naruto himself, and was widely considered as a complete genius. It would only make sense that he would teach a group of widely skilled, Doujutsu-armed geniuses.

As his mind raced once more into a whole sort of details and stupidly specific, unnecessary thoughts, Naruto barely noticed Iruka-sensei's comment on how much he had grown and his pride over the blonde boy's development, simply taking the forehead protector, politely replying and tying it firmly around his neck.

"**All three of you. You have no idea how proud I am of all of you. Out of all my students, you three came out on top in the scoreboards. I am sure great things will come to all of you, and good luck on your ninja journey. You are now dismissed!"**

"**Hai, sensei!"**

All turned around, slowly making their way up through the classroom's three main corridors. Sakura went from the left, Sasuke from the middle and Naruto from the right, unconsciously picking the one closest to his own seat, and eventually passing Hinata on the way to the exit. He couldn't say he wasn't expecting it, but he still felt the physical surprise as her hand snapped out of her private space in order to hold him.

"**I know what you are going to say."**

"**And I know you. You won't care about what I've got to say. I can tell that you aren't the least bothered by the news. But keep in mind, for this next task you won't be facing some run-of-the-mill Genin. We're talking about Sharingan no Kakashi. You will need all your tricks and then some if you want to pass."**

"**And if I use all my tricks and then some, I end up in the hospital."**

"**Just, be careful. We don't know enough about your eyes yet. Don't venture into unknown territory."**

Naruto spoke no more as she allowed him to go, quickly making his way towards the double doors at the centre of the classroom's back. Sakura was nearing it as well, while Sasuke was already opening the right one and walking past it by then. Naruto followed, his brain running at ten miles per hour, glancing at the windows by the side, taking in his reflex.

In the glass, on his face, he found a pair of gray eyes with multiple irises staring back at him.

To all whom it may concern:

This is my first fanfiction and chapter.

I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I am aware that Rinnegan Naruto has been written to death, though I believe not exactly in the way I intend on writing him.

I will have numerous references to movies, books and even other fanfictions here. Cookie to those who find them.

Thank you, Favorite and please Review. It helps me get better.


	2. Chapter 2 - Hatake Kakashi

**Chapter 2**

**Hatake Kakashi**

"Team seven? Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, right?" A voice called out to the trio, grabbing their attention from the moment each of them stepped out of the building they had spent the last three years of their lives in. It was strange. The blonde, now Genin, had expected to feel something as he left the Academy for what he hoped to be the last time. Maybe sadness, melancholy or just plain nostalgia. Maybe a feeling of regret for leaving behind the place and people that gave him all the information and power he would need to live his life.

But he didn't. He felt nothing. Life was life. Leaving places and good things coming to an end was necessary for new ones to come forth. And there was nothing he could do about that.

As they all exited, they turned their heads to see a white-haired man leaning against the wall directly to the right of the double-doors, nose-deep into a copy of Icha Icha Violence. _Good Taste_. Naruto mentally remarked, having been a fan of Jiraiya's work for a few years by then. The man wore the standard Jounin outfit. A pair of black sandals, ninja navy blue pants tied to the sandals with bandages, a green Jounin vest, equipped with a few small scroll pockets over the standard navy blue ninja sweatshirt. However, this one was somewhat modified to include a facial mask that hid all but the eyes. The right one, for that matter, given that the left one was hidden by a tilted forehead protector, which also held the Jounin's white hair up in a gravity-defying angle.

Overall, he seemed rather mysterious, doing justice to his reputation. However, to someone with Naruto's invasive eyes, "to seem" was many times nowhere near to the object or person's real nature. The "Man of the Sharingan Eye" had his right eye on the book pages, but he most surely had his left one staring at each of them through the forehead protector, gauging them up and see what they were worth.

"Hatake Kakashi? Are you our new mentor?" Sasuke took the indifferent liberty of taking the lead, staring at the Jounin with nothing on his face but expectation and a slightly noticeable amount of anxiety. After all, broody, sole survivor or not, Sasuke was still a young Genin, extremely fresh and barely out of the Academy. Some excitement was to be expected.

The man chuckled slightly at the Sasuke's question, leaving the asker somewhat puzzled with his reaction, before closing the book. In Naruto's eyes, his Sharingan lost focus and returned to its deep slumber, satisfied with the analysis it had gotten. The blonde had to hand it to his senior. He was a crafty one.

"We'll see, we'll see. Follow me and don't lag behind."Straight to the point and crystal clear. Traits common to a battle-hardened soldier. In a situation of stress, rapidity and simplicity in communication were essential for the survival of the people involved and for the success of whatever plan was at hand. With time, these combat-ridden abilities burned themselves into the person's personality, making them easy-to-identify in shinobi.

Naruto rubbed his forehead with his right hand. His migraine was beginning to return. He seriously needed to quit over-analyzing. Besides, what was the point? No level of analysis would truly prepare him for whatever test the man had in mind. It had been a long time since he and Hinata figured that there had to be something else other than a final written exam. Every year, a few out-of-the-Academy Genin would return to the boring place with seemingly no explanation other than that their mentor did not believe they were ready to be a ninja. A couple of questions directed at a few frustrated boys and girls and their curiosity was satisfied.

Every teacher had a test of their own. Some Genjutsu users preferred testing their students in the art of fighting without being able to trust sight, smell or texture, sometimes even sound. Some Ninjutsu artists simply had their students fight one another in order to gauge up their capacity.

Unfortunately, Naruto had not done his research on Kakashi, and his test would remain a secret. Thus, he focused his attention on something else. His teammates. Cooperation or last man standing, information on them would be useful, and as thus, he reviewed it.

Uchiha Sasuke. Twelve years old. Approximately a hundred and fifty one centimeters tall. Weighing at fourty-two kilograms. Blood type AB. Last survivor of the Uchiha clan. Possible low-level Sharingan wielder. Confirmed Katon user. Higher than average Taijutsu fighter. Genjutsu skills unconfirmed. Vanguard. Staying behind is not included in his dictionary. Use this to own advantage.

Haruno Sakura. Twelve years old. Approximately one hundred and fourty nine centimeters tall. Weighing at thirty five kilograms. Blood Type O. No bloodline limit applicable. No elemental manipulations confirmed. Average Taijutsu fighter. Excels at Genjutsu detection. High Chakra Control. Support type, mostly. Not a threat alone. Quite irritating accompanied.

Naruto sighed as he rubbed his forehead once more. He felt like a Nara.

How troublesome.

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Ten minutes later, they were settling in a nice plain field with a slow-stream river passing through the middle. It seemed a nice area for combat. Long-range attacks would easily be permitted thanks to the wide area, but also easy to fight covertly thanks to the surrounding forests. Overall, it was a nicely chosen place, in Naruto's opinion.

"Alright. Welcome to Training Ground number Three. If you pass this next test, you'll be seeing it a lot more. Mostly with your vision blurred with your own sweat and your ears bursting from the sound of your desperate breathing."

If that had been an attempt at getting the trio nervous, it had horribly failed. Naruto kept his passive facial expression, evaluating the humidity in the air and floor and overall calculating the conditions for physical exertion, while Sakura and Sasuke held the confident smirks of who had just confirmed a suspicion. It seemed that they too had done their homework and figured out the little post-graduation scheme that had been implanted so many years before.

"What does this test consist in?" A certain raven-haired Uchiha went on and asked. Sakura was standing by his side, a determined look on her face. Her body language suggested a relationship of submission towards Sasuke. She was willing to either take orders from him in a confrontation against the mentor or to refuse to fight him in a gauntlet. Naruto realized he could take advantage of this. Were they to fight Kakashi, he'd just have to catch Sasuke's attention and convince him and he'd be in charge of the whole team. Were he to engage on a three man last-man-standing, all he'd have to do was worry about the Uchiha and everything would be fine.

"It's pretty simple to understand, even for fresh-off-the-Academy scrubs." The white-haired man spoke, turning his head down for a moment as he searched his back pouch for something, that he would pull out and display in front of them quickly after.

"What I am holding here are three bells. One for each of you. All you need to do to pass this test and become my students is to take yours before the end of the day. A quick warning, though. If you're not willing to outright murder me, you're just not going to get your hands on them."

The trio slightly moved their bodies, unconsciously revealing that they were adjusting to the sudden news. They had to take a Jounin on and manage to steal something from him. From the way Kakashi was attaching them to his pouch right by his right upper thigh, it seemed there was no other means of getting them than through close combat.

_Tricky. _Naruto thought to himself.

"When does it start? Are there any rules?" The blonde boy asked from his lower position. He was once more in a fetal-like position, crouching and looking forth. The answers to these questions would be what determined his following course of action.

"There are no rules. Strike with whatever you want. Do it alone or team up, I don't care. It starts right about..." Kakashi glanced over his shoulder to the sun clock that had been placed behind him on the floor.

All were expectant. Sakura nervously fidgeted with her arms and legs. Sasuke swallowed deep, not sure about his own abilities. Naruto remained in his position, not moving a finger, blowing small amounts of air out of his semi-closed lips. With this, he caught his teammates attention. At first they were somewhat confused, but they quickly caught on. It was morse code. This specific message meant: "Follow me."

"...now."

They vanished.

The seasoned Jounin stared at the spot where they had been for a few seconds, before pulling out Icha Icha Violence, once more burying his nose into it. This would certainly be interesting. He'd had heard of what the Academy Tutors liked to call the "Three Djinn". Also known as the three prodigies: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto. Though no Uchiha Itachi or Hatake Kakashi, all three of them were definitely going to be featured in the Academy's History along the best students, each with their own ridiculously high prowess for their age.

Giving them this test would allow the man to see for himself just how much they were being overrated.

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Meanwhile, the trio were all huddled together on one of the branches of the medium-sized trees by Kakashi's left. Naruto was in his typical crouching position, Sakura by his right, staring down at Kakashi, and Sasuke by his left, crouching as well, keeping an eye on the white-haired man and the other on the blonde.

"So I guess that since the three of us are here, we've all come to the same conclusion." Naruto opened up the discussion, hands in pockets, eyes never leaving Kakashi. His brain was undergoing one of the few overdrives that didn't actually harm him.

"We can't take those bells alone." The Uchiha replied, to which Naruto simply nodded, accompanied by Sakura.

"We have to use teamwork. You know that that's all teachers preach about. Chances are this test is to see just that."

"To see that or not, the goal is to get those bells. I'll be straight-forward, my close combat is average at best. It'd probably be better if you two kept the offensive and I provided support. Genjutsu and Ninjutsu." As Naruto spoke, he shrugged his shoulders. It was the simple truth. He hadn't had much time for his physical development as he had had for his mental. He would correct that later on, but for the time being, he had no other choice.

"What about your eyes? What can you do with them?" Sasuke was quick to ask. He had always been interested in Naruto's eyes. They were nothing common. Apparently, no one had even heard of such a thing. It would be a great time to learn about them. However, the blonde decided he would not give the Uchiha the benefit of such information, and simply shrugged once more before deeply sighing.

"For the time being, let's act like I don't have them. At most, they give me a hawk's ability to "zoom in" on something, and I can, to a point, see chakra as a color. Aside that, nothing really defined. I'm still trying to figure out by myself." He explained. It was no lie. He and Hinata had been experimenting and pushing him in several different ways, but none had bore significant or relevant fruit. He assumed it would only do so in a truly stressful situation. "What about you? Do you have your Sharingan yet? Do you have it at all?"

Sasuke shrugged in the same way.

"Yes. Level one. No tomoe, just a simple red eye. With it I can track Taijutsu movements and close combat is slower and easier to respond to. I can see chakra as a color. Nothing else, really. Well, I'll take care of the front lines. I'll focus on Taijtusu and Ninjutsu up to a point, but Genjutsu is still something of a farfteched idea for me." Neither Naruto nor Sakura had expected Sasuke to ever be this humble and honest about his abilities, but it wasn't a time to question it. This test would determine whether or not they spent three more useless years in the Academy. A lot was on the line, and arrogance and ego weren't about to risk it all.

"What about you, Sakura? Anything worth telling? I know you've got high Chakra Control and can detect Genjutsu, but anything else?" The blonde was glad that the others were allowing him to direct the conversation. This would make planning much, much easier.

"I've been experimenting with medical techniques and chakra control. I've got a couple of close combat techniques, but nothing that I can just throw out there and expect a hit out of. I'd say that if you two could get me an opening, I could very well throw him off his feet and give us a victory. But that is only if you manage to get me that. Otherwise, I've got a few middle range bukijutsu techniques."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as they zoomed in on Kakashi's face He could bet he was using his Sharingan to scan the whole forest at that moment. There were many variables in this situation, certainly enough to keep the blonde busy. However, not enough to make it impossible.

"Alright, listen close..."

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Ten Minutes Later

"Jūha Shō_**" **_

The Jounin's book-buried face snapped to the side just in time to see a wide blade of wind flying straight towards him.

"Hmm. Interesting, interesting. But..." As the blade came close, Kakashi literally fell back, his feet still planted on the ground as he curved backwards, with his legs being upright only to his knees. The blade flew over him, causing no harm, before crashing through a pair of trees, cutting their trunks cleanly. "...certainly not enough."

"Too early to tell!" Sasuke's voice replied, attracting Kakashi's sight to his left. The boy was there, letting himself lose height as he viciously attempted to sweep the man's legs.

"Don't get arrogant, now." The Jounin literally hopped over the sweep, falling with his upper back on the ground. However, he wouldn't stop there. As Sasuke rose with his back to the Jounin, confused from the fact that his attack hadn't hit, Kakashi crunched his whole body before snapping it up in a kip-up movement, striking Sasuke's back with both feet, kicking him a few feet forth before falling on his back once more, now performing the kip-up again, standing as if nothing had happened. Icha Icha violence was still on his right hand, and his nose was still buried in it.

"Take THIS!" Sakura swung a mean right hook towards the man's left cheek, hand glowing with chakra, which he only noticed at the last moment, slightly leaning back to avoid it and keeping his left foot out to trip her. She did trip, only barely maintaining her balance. By then, it was too late. Kakashi's left hand firmly took her right forearm. He spun, dragging her in a circle three times.

"Have a nice fall." He spun once more before pulling her up and releasing the grip he had on her arm. Naturally, she ungracefully flew four meters into the air and fifteen across the ground before beginning to fall.

"Zankūha" Naruto quickly finished a pair of hand-seals, planting his hands on the ground and forcing Fuuton chakra through them. The stream left a small track through the earth as it flew towards the place where the pink-haired Kunoichi would land. There, it expanded, creating an air pocket directly below a small layer of ground.

She crashed into it, her impact being extremely cushioned, barely suffering any kind of damage at all. The ground slowly lost its "bump" as it fell to its original size, allowing Sakura to stand up, coughing.

"Thanks, Naruto."

"Don't thank him just yet." Kakashi was now standing directly over here, peaking out of the side of the book at her with his only eye. Sakura shook.

"Sakura, get out of there!" Sasuke shouted at her as he completed his own sequence of hand-seals, molding the chakra in his chest. He took one, long, deep breath, readying himself for letting it all out at once.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" He spat it out in the shape of a gigantic ball of fire with at least five meters of diameter.

Sakura rolled and jumped out of the way, saving herself from harm while Naruto monitored the whole situation from the back. The real plan had failed and died out long ago. Now they were, as expected, merely going by gut and instinct. The important was acting together. Planned or not, it was all they had.

Kakashi put away his book, muttering something about undisciplined, rude brats who didn't let anyone read a good story, as he performed yet another sequence of hand-seals, molding chakra on his palms, before striking them into the ground.

"First ninja ability: Ninjutsu!" He announced.

"Doton: Doryūheki!" A small, fourty centimeter-thick, two meters-wide wall made of nothing but earth itself rose two and a half meters above the ground directly in front of the Jounin.

The fireball slammed with its full power into the wall, voraciously attempting to consume the dirt and rock with its flames, but achieving nothing more than charring it and eating away a couple of centimeters of width off of it.

Meanwhile, from the white-haired man's side of the wall, one could see performing more hand-seals, readying himself for a counter-attack. After all, these kids couldn't just cheat him out of a few pages of perversity without punishment.

With a single hand-seal, a picture perfect copy of him appeared. Picture to which he nodded, receiving a nod back, before literally diving into the ground, as if it was nothing more than nice, soft water.

The clone jumped over the wall, running straight at a certain raven-haired boy, probably attempting to engage him in close combat.

"Second ninja ability: Taijutsu!"

"Whatever!" Sasuke threw him half-a-dozen shuriken, spinning like buzzsaws through the air, before pulling out a kunai.

While they engaged each other, Naruto and Sakura traded glances. Mentally, both were pondering as to why the Jounin would ignore both of them to simply go after the Uchiha prodigy. Seemed more of a distraction then anything.

As such, Sakura signalled him to confirm, and as he stared into the floor, he definitely identified the faint blue of chakra moving below the ground at frighteningly high speeds.

"Shit! Sasuke, it's a Kage Bunshin! Watch out below you!"

It was too late. Sasuke drove a nasty uppercut into the clone's gut, spinning, slapping the clone's incoming hand away and driving one last solid left elbow into its stomach, causing it to cough out blood and poof into a cloud of white smoke.

"Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu"

As the Uchiha glared down with his red eyes, Kakashi's head and arms popped up from the floor. It was too late to evade him now.

"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu"

Kakashi grasped onto Sasuke's legs, making Naruto swore between his gritted teeth, immediately performing a few hand-seals once more.

"Sakura! I'm going to give you a boost! Go for it!" He planted his hands on the floor once more, making sure he'd send in an extra burst of air for this one. "Zankūha!"

The air travelled through the pre-defined trajectory, raging through the ground before feeling the air cushioned ground once more, now with more power to it. Sakura allowed it to push her up before jumping off of it, using it as a trampoline.

As she gained altitude, Kakashi pulled Sasuke down, as he himself went up, effectively trapping the Genin's body as a whole, except for his head.

"You were too cocky. Even with those eyes, you see nothing, Sasuke..."

"Ōkashō!"

Kakashi's head snapped up in time to see Sakura flying down, chakra-enhanced fist raging and begging for a shot at the white-haired Jounin's face. Sasuke had a confused look on his face. Was she trying to kill him? However, when he realized the plan, he only smiled.

"Shit!" Kakashi jumped away with all of his power just as Sakura crashed into the ground, breaking boulders apart with almost no effort, releasing Sasuke from his earthen prison. Kakashi was in a bad position. All three had been keeping him on the run, taking little to no damage of their own. How was it that they could operate so well together? They had barely just met?

"Looks like someone's confused." Sasuke spoke, slapping the last few bits of dirt and dust off of his clothes, while Sakura cracked her knuckles, readying herself for yet another punch. Sooner or later, she was going to hit him. And when she did...

"It's fine, I'll explain sensei. It's pretty simple, anyway. We're at the top of the scoreboards. We are known as the Rookies of the Year because our cognitive ability is higher than any other in our year. Aside that, we've developed our shinobi skills with one another for the past few years. We know each other better than anyone, even if we haven't fought together." Sakura had a matter-of-fact expression on her face as she spoke. Kakashi couldn't reply or say anything at all. She was right. He should have expected it.

"Genin or not, it's three against one..._sensei_." Naruto hissed from behind, forcing Kakashi to turn around in a blur, attempting to deliver a mean punch straight into his left cheek. However, the Jounin had no intentions of allowing it to happen, swaying back. It was fine. The blonde had him just where he wanted him. He focused chakra into his right eye, looking deep into his teacher's right eye. He knew exactly what he was doing, and even though the kick that the man was loading up was going to hurt like hell, it'd be worth it.

The roundhouse struck against his middle torso like a train, shooting him through the air and into a tree, causing a small explosion.

The blonde had to admit it. It hurt a whole lot more than he had expected. The tree's lower trunk was halfway caved in, and he was unsure as to how many ribs had been broken. Still, he could move, somewhat, and Kakashi was about to get in a whole world of hurt.

To the Jounin's eye, he would see Sakura and Sasuke Shunshin to Naruto's sides and start taunting him, asking him if he was insane for hurting a student like that.

"This is the world of ninja! The weak get hurt! If you can't handle close combat, don't get in on it! That's a lesson for you. And now, without you to cover their asses, your two friends are going to crumble. What are you going to do now? Real life situation, they're dead."

"And so are you." Sakura's voice spoke out in a weirdly sadistic tone, a little distance away and behind Kakashi.

His eyes wide, he turned his head to see her smiling, many kunai in her hand with small bags attached to them. How could she be in two places at once? She hadn't created clones, he was sure of it!

He stared back towards the fallen Naruto, who was breathing heavily and grinning manically as the images of Sasuke and Sakura by his side began to become static and fade into static, as if they were being watched through old, poorly connected television. Then, they completely zoned out, with Naruto being the only person left in the scenario. Him and his right eye, which was darting straight into Kakashi's.

"Ninja...ability...*cough*...number three. Genjutsu."

Kakashi made a "tsch" sound, turning back to Sakura. He'd been caught. Now to assess the damage. His eye widened as he saw that Sakura had made preparations. Small papers were falling all around, some already on the ground. All of them miniature exploding tags.

"Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu"

She threw one last exploding tag, forcing the Jounin's eyes to widen. He couldn't run to the sides. It was too late. He had to jump. Crouching and forcing chakra into his legs' muscles, he shot off from the ground at the same time that a massive explosion took place, propelling him through the air. Using his surprising Taijutsu skills, Kakashi manipulated himself and flipped through the air to maximize aerodymanics, allowing for better movement.

"Missed me!?" Sasuke flew down on Kakashi, flipping forward several times as he came crashing down with a horribly hard axe kick. The Jounin barely had the time to respond, and even when he did, crossing his two arms to absorb it, he realized he couldn't. The kinetic energy itself was too hard. He was going to be flying and crashing down. Hard.

No snarky replies came Sasuke's way as he used Kakashi as a stepping stone, jumping even higher into the air as the white-haired man flew down.

Kakashi himself had a hard time with his landing. He had to flip a few times, and even then, attempting to get in as much air resistance as possible, his legs sent jolts of pain into his nervous system as he cushioned the impact with his feet and crouching. There would be no time for recuperation, however, as a certain pink-haired girl was rushing towards him, chakra-enhanced fist ready to deal damage.

Naruto's eyes widened at the Jounin's response. He was charging up that devilish roundhouse. If he hit her first, which he would due to a simple matter of length and distance, she would be shot backwards and then it would be Sasuke vs Kakashi one on one. Which would mean defeat.

The blonde focused, as his right hand instinctively moved up, palm pointing straight at Kakashi. His Rinnegan was glowing, and altough he had no idea of what he was doing, he was certain that it would be their savior.

"Banshō Ten'in"

It was a weak technique. Naruto knew it. Or at least, it was still weak. However, it worked exactly as it was needed to work. It pulled the man's leg backwards suddenly, stopping and countering all of the force he had gathered up, leaving him absolutely astonished.

"What?"

"SHANNARO!"

Sakura's heavenly blue right fist slammed into the confused Kakashi's left cheek, pushing him off of his feet and forcing him to stumble across the ground for quite a few meters. Sasuke was still in the air, kunai in hand, Sharingan activated.

He threw three, and then three more, before throwing the final one. As Kakashi slid across the floor with violence, the three kunai rebounded off of other three, before all colliding with the last one, striking the string that held the three bells. Perfect timing, perfect placing, perfect force. Shurikenjutsu had never seen such an artist.

Sasuke landed, Sharingan fading away. Although he was tired out, he picked up the bells, casually throwing one at Sakura.

"Naruto. Catch." He threw it perfectly over the air, allowing the blonde to catch it with little effort, smiling and giving a thumbs up as he hugged his destroyed ribs.

"Nice one. Best team I've seen so far."

The voice had come out nowhere near close Kakashi's unconscious body on the floor, but yet, from behind the sun clock that had been pointed out before. From there, they saw the man rise, book still in hand, before he closed it and shot them all an eye smile.

"What?!" Sasuke glanced at the Jounin, and then back at the Kakashi on the floor, which gained the static-like appearance before fading into nothingness.

"Genjutsu..?*cough*...When?" Naruto asked, his brain going into overdrive. His nose was bleeding and his head was blaring. That last jutsu, whatever it had been had certainly taken way too much off of him.

"Simple answer, actually. From the moment you cast a Genjutsu on me. I used another genjutsu. Magen: Kyō Tenchi-ten. Demonic Illusion: Inversion of Heaven and Earth. Basically, I recast your own illusion on yourself and on your friends. Pretty sweet." Kakashi's eye smile never left his face. To him it had all been a simple joke.

"But the bells!" Sakura spoke, quickly realizing the bell she had had on her hand had disappeared into absolutely nothing.

"An illusion as well. But you know what, you three can have them. Out of all the teams I have been assigned, geniuses or not, prodigies or not, you are the first to actually work together. When one of yours fell, you didn't go for personal glory, you went for a way to help them, all three of you. And that's what I wanted to see. Welcome to team Seven. I am Hatake Kakashi, twenty-six years old, blood type O. I do not want to say what I like and what I don't like and I don't really have any hobbies that I'd like to refer. Now that introductions are over, meet me here tomorrow at seven a.m. No delays, no being late. You won't like to find out what happens if you are. Ta ta for now!"

He gently slung the bells towards Sasuke, spun, brought his book out and disappeared.

By then, it was nightfall, and all of them were hurt, exhausted or both.

"Any of you hungry? I'd go for dinner now." Naruto asked, making both of his teammates laugh as Sasuke went over and picked him up, throwing his arm over his shoulders, helping him walk.

As Naruto painfully chuckled a bit, he accidentally glanced out towards the trees. There, he saw a certain navy blue-haired, white-eyed girl staring back. She stood there a few moments before turning and walking away once more.

He understood the message. They needed to talk. Soon.

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And that was the end of it. Second chapter, stopped bolding text. Hope you enjoyed the first bit of combat. Next chapter will revert back into what this series started out as. Stay well and see you soon. Review, Favorite and Follow if you'd like to see this turn into something better and prosper.


	3. Chapter 3 - Sasuke & NarutoLight & Dark

"Pfft, you two should worship me like a goddess. If it weren't for me, you'd never have gotten that close."

"Yeah, right. If it weren't for Naruto, you'd have been down and out from the moment Kakashi caught you."

"Well, I think we can all agree with the fact that I am the greatest."

The pair slowly turned their heads to face the blonde boy, who was currently sitting his trade mark way on the far right of Ichiraku's Ramen Shack, with his characteristic, expressionless, dead-serious face, biting his right thumb.

All three burst out in laughter.

"Alright, kids. Time to go. It's getting late, I need to close and you three need to rest if your bandages are anything to go by."

"Ok, o-san..." Naruto climbed off of the chair, taking his hand into his back pouch before pulling out Gama-chan. "I'll cover tonight. How much?"

"Nothing. It's on the house. Congratulations on your graduations. Now do me a favor and go to sleep. If it's true that Kakashi's the one training you, you're going to need it." Old Teuchi Ichiraku begun to bring down the metal fence over the shack as the newly formed Team Seven left.

"Bye, o-san."

"See you, bye, goodnight."

…...

They walked together for a few minutes, their respiration turning white and visible in the cold night. Naruto's grey and black checkered hoodie was pulled up, while Sasuke and Sakura were beginning to consider a cahnge in their outfit.

The three came to a stop in a crossroads. Facing the north road, one could see the Four Hokage' giant busts. To the east, one would head towards the outskirts and slums. To the west, the markets and shops. To the south, the Clan district. They were all standing in a triangle position, giggling and chuckling at an immature joke that the raven-haired boy had thrown out.

"Alright, the old man is right. We all need to rest. If tomorrow's as bad as today, we'll seriously need it." Naruto spoke, crouching down to his signature position one more time. The medic-nin had been able to repair the fractures, but they hadn't been able to repair his head. Bansho Tenin. A powerful technique with painful setbacks. His mind was still numb.

"Agreed." The other two spoke at the same time, quickly facing each other before facing away again, with the girl growing a red blush.

"Alright, see you tomorrow." Naruto rose, breaking off from the group and heading to the west, waving his hand out.

"Good night." Sasuke followed, giving a slight snap of the right hand before turning south, heading for his clan's compound.

Sakura stood where she was for a few seconds before shaking something off of her head and heading to the west.

"Bye..."

The crossroads became deserted. Deprived of all life. Well, not exactly all. All but two dark silhouettes that glared down upon the newly-turned ninja. One with a dog mask. One with a cat mask. Naruto was growing uneasy. His glowing purple eyes were blaring at him. His gut was revolting, telling him to look back. He sated his curiosity, head snapping back and his right eye darting through a specific spot on the rooftop.

Nothing was there.

…...

The sound of metal making contact and being forced to move broke the nocturnal silence, as Naruto inserted his keys in the apartment's front door's lock, turning it slowly.

The world, as mentioned before, was a rather boring thing for Naruto. He new exactly how inserting the key would push a few pins into their specific spots, allowing it to turn the lock as a wheel, sliding the respective metal parts out of the way and allow him to push the door open.

As he entered, he closed and locked the door behind him, knowing full well how tapping and flipping the light-switch would close the electric circuit and supply the lightbulbs with electricity, forcing the small reistance to burn and create a constant, visible source of light.

He also knew how Hinata had used a hairpin and a small tool to force his varanda's door's pins up and to consequently rotate them in order to open it, infiltrate and set it up so that she was now on a full lotus position, meditating downside up on his ceiling.

The world was something extremely boring for Naruto.

"Had fun?"

"Loads of it. My ribs had a blast. Did you not see that kick?"

"How could I? Kurenai was testing me, Shino and Kiba." she responded. Her eyelids were closed, but he was well aware of the fact that she was spying him as he passed below her, throwing his back pouch onto the black leather couch, which was on the left, before hurrying to the fridge, directly to his northeast. Her answer confused him, or rather, sprouted a new variable on his mind, as he was almost certain he had sighted her. However, he did not allow his new-found uncertainty to transpire, deciding to think on it later.

"Shino and Kiba. Aburame and Inuzuka, right?" He questioned as he opened the fridge, taking out a carton of milk.

"Right. I'd guess they're trying to create a few specialized teams." As she spoke, his mind put itself to work, given full concentration as he performed the boringly routine task of filling the bowl with chocolate cereal and pouring milk into it, before taking out a spoon from a drawer.

"Pfft, I hope you enjoy tracking." He replied, throwing himself onto the couch, sitting in his trademark position, eating the cereal at a fast pace.

"Trust me, I won't. I hate having to do these menial tasks. This is all because you insisted I withhold my strength!" Her eyes finally snapped open, glaring at the blonde who gave no corporal response but his expressionless face.

"It is necessary. If your father suddenly decides to take an interest in you thanks to some new-found power or natural talent, all of our research and planning will be cancelled. We can not allow for detection. I've told you this."

"Yes, I know...So, anything interesting happened in your test?" She spoke, shutting her eyes once more, relaxing completely. Her body had been tense, but that was not what she had wanted to calm. Kurenai had meddled with her mind with Genjutsu, and she had to clear it out.

"Good question. I had to use my eyes in the fight to track down and place a Genjutsu on Kakashi. My only guess is that I pushed myself far enough. I've activated some kind of ability. A pulling ability of some sort." As Naruto spoke, his own face changed expressions, recalling the moment. He had sent a strange urge of power and an almost immediate sulk in it as well. He left his cereal unattended as he explained.

"A pulling ability?"

"I myself don't quite understand it. It was a bit instinctive. I rose my hand, fueled it and my eyes with chakra and suddenly Kakashi's leg was pulled back. It was the only thing that let us "win" the match, because Sakura got to punch him after. It was extremely taxing and my head still hurts, but it interests me. If we experiment with it, it might become a valuable trump card in the future." As soon as he stopped speaking, he knew he had messed things up. Hinata's face turned into a frown.

"I'm going to try and ignore the fact that you ignored my advice to be careful. Do you think you can replicate what you did?" She replied, remaining in her position, though opening her eyes. It obviously had him think. Could he replicate it? Perhaps.

He slowly rose his left hand, pointing its palm directly at one of the chairs they had in the small kitchen. His grey eyes shone brightly, glowing with power, something that the Hyuuga noticed with her malice-filled eyes. *

"Bansho Tenin."

Suddenly, the chair glowed as well, giving off a slight warning of what was about to ensue. It took flight, rushing through the air at an insane speed. Naruto only had time to tighten down, crouching as much as he could on the couch, allowing himself to stay directly below the wooden object that continued its trip, smashing into the opposite wall, shattering itself into a thousand pieces.

Hinata had stiffened up at the sudden outburst, but she could very well keep her mind cool to analyze the situation. Naruto's face was dull, however, it was not the normal expressionless face. It was the forced one, which, to someone who knew him, was a sign that he was hiding something.

He truly was. The blonde boy, with a hood over his head, was confused. The "draining" feel was nowhere near as harsh as the first time, and the power was quite obviously a few times more noticeable. Were his abilities developing at such a pace? The variables were by now something that even he couldn't deal with – they were way too much. It could be a sign that his abilities had been awakened, it could be a sign that it was simply an erratic thing, sprouting at times, it could be a sign that only for that specific ability, his capacity and potential was elevating itself, however it could also mean absolutely nothing.

Overall, quite troublesome. However, it did give him on confirmation. His powers were not to be toyed with and, until further notice, used as a last resort.

"I see we have improvement." She spoke, receiving a slight nod in response.

"It seems the stress I was placed under today has managed to awaken it up to a point." Suddenly, he clutched his head, clenching his teeth and shaking slightly, groaning in pain. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about the migraine's backlash.

In a second, Hinata was at his side, hopping over the spilt milk and cereal, crouching by him and holding him tight. She knew that no amount of medical ninjutsu or medication would ever truly silence the headaches.

"You need to calm down. Try to get yourself together. Let's discuss something else. Your team, your future plans, anything. Get your mind off of your eyes."

"Sasuke's unto me." He blurted out, his enormous shaking stopping.

"What?"

…...

Sasuke's POV -

A few lone steps echoed through the vast, deserted space that was now the Uchiha clan's compound. No amount of exorcism, no amount of mourning, no amount of whispered apologies could ever silence the mute cries of horror and pain that constantly inhabited the place. The cries for help proferred by his fellow clan members, the ones who were murdered and put down like animals by Itachi's hands.

The ravenhaired boy did not seem to be bothered by them, anyway. He walked slowly, looking at the ground, stockpiling and organizing all of the daily thoughts and occurences. He had long since decided that if he was to put an end to Itachi's waste of a life and ressuscitate the Uchiha clan, he had to attempt and absorb any kind of power, be it suspicious, harmful or worse. After all, whatever happened to him after these two objectives were put through.

Something that did intrigue him were the blonde's eyes and abilities. His intellect had already proven itself time and time again in the fight against Kakashi. However, that was not transferable, and Sasuke himself had no desire to switch when it came to it. The eyes themselves could be a welcome addition. Did he honestly want to replace his Sharingan with them, though? It could be an awful trade. After all, so far all he knew about the blonde's eyes were their ability to track movement, see chakra and cast Genjutsu.

Well, not just that. There was also that strange pulling ability. Fake clone or not, it had been the only thing that let Sakura smack Kakashi and get them a victory. One thing was for certain, he had to conduct more investigation and research into the mysterious Doujutsu. It was strange on itself that nobody had ever heard of such a thing before.

As he slid the door to his house open, he was immediately greeted by a kneeling, bowing girl in her late teenage years, wearing a plain black kimono with the Uchiha coat of arms on the back. Her hair was red, pulled back into a classic half palm tree tie, while the other half covered her right eye in one long bang. Her skin was fair and creamy, and her eyes were sharp and attentive, much like a hawk's.

"Sasuke-sama, you've come late. I shall heat up the bath and prepare your dinner immediately." she spoke, never once raising her head or eyes. She had been perfectly disciplined and taught in order to become a perfect servant, that much was obvious."

"There is no need for dinner, Asaruy. I am not hungry. Prepare a hot bath and a massage. The day was stressful and I wish to spend the night meditating." As he spoke her name and walked past her, leaving his sandals behind, she slowly rose and followed close behind, with a distance of two people in between them, as the raven-haired boy guided both of them to what he had named as the "rest and relaxation center", formerly their private hot springs and "SPA".

"Surely, Sasuke-sama. Did you manage to discover what you had mentioned?" She asked, hurrying behind the boy with her small feet. She had recalled that her master had spoken of something interesting that he was expecting to occur.

"That, and more. I had to play coy and weak, but I found out that his eyes, much like mine, can see Chakra and activate Genjutsu. He can also track movement and use a strange, "pulling" power."

"Perhaps related to gravity control?"

"I am still not sure. It is definitely worth further investigation, though. Testing may be involved."

"What are the risks of obtaining these results, however? Sasuke-sama?"

"The risks are a completely different story. To be honest, I'm pretty sure he's already caught unto me."

…...

Naruto's POV -

"What do you mean Sasuke's after you?" The Hyuuga, asked staring straight into Naruto's head. He had his left thumb in his mouth and was sitting in the fetal position, staring at a single spot in the ground, at nothing in particular.

"He had a nasty look when he was observing my eyes earlier today. For a split second, sure, but he did have it. When he started asking questions about it, both in the fight and at dinner, he always stopped right before stepping the line, as if he was being extremely careful about it."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Sasuke's one of the two last members of the Uchiha clan. No matter how rational he is, he will always be driven by his hatred and vendetta towards Itachi. I'd guess that no matter how self-destructive it may become, he is in a hunt for power. And just what that is powerful has come to play today?"

"...your eyes."

"Bingo. I bet he sees my eyes as a quick source of power." Naruto took a bite out of the chocolate bar that Hinata had given him. It had always cooled down his headaches. Not killed, but cooled down.

"What will his next step be?"

…...

Sasuke's POV -

"What will your next step be, Sasuke-sama?" Asaruy asked as she used her finger's pressure to work out the stress on the raven-haired boy's upper back. Sasuke liked Asaruy. She had always been a faithful servant, and an extremely intelligent one at that. Ever since Itachi had done what he had, she had been assigned to him. Furthermore, she had volunteered.

"I will stop probing for a small while. Maybe a week, so he doesn't grow suspicious. While that, I'll occasionally train in private sessions as an alibi, using the time to get information in other, more discrete ways. Depending on how things go, and if they're worth it at all, I'll try to get the eyes around the Chuunin Exams."

Asaruy's eyes widened, understanding her master's plan immediately.

…...

Naruto's POV -

"Why will he strike in the Chuunin Exams?" The white-eyed girl wondered as she sat cross-legged, watching the blonde eat peacefully.

"He'll have enough information by then, and it'll be the most "accident-prone time of the entire school year."

"So he can simply attack you and pin it on someone else. But what then? It's not like he can replace his own eyes and stay undercover."

"He won't need to. After that, he will have absorbed all possible knowledge from Kakashi and other mentors he may have found. By then, Konohagakure will have nothing more to offer him, and he will-"

…...

Sasuke's POV -

"By then, I will run from the village and take you with me. I'll have nothing more here to do and can search for power in other places." He finished, smirking for a second, before beginning to laugh. That strange, eerie laugh. The one that would terrorize so many in the future. The laugh of a truly and purely evil individual. The laugh of the insane hilarity that onyl victory could provide.

"Naruto, you're smart. But I am much smarter than you."

Asaruy remained silent. She had always known her master was gifted. How many people could truly and honestly plan that far ahead? He knew that Naruto had caught unto him. He even knew that Naruto was probably thinking the same way he was. The problem? Naruto had no certainties nor did he have any way to prevent anything. Sasuke had planned it so that he was in control, and that was what was going to give him an advantage over the blonde Uzumaki.

…...

Naruto -

Hinata remained silent. Naruto wasn't bleeding. He was in another of his "zones". If she was correct, he had probably been scoping the Uchiha out with his eyes all day. She allowed a smile to flex her face. This was exactly why she trusted on the blonde boy so much. Nobody would ever be able to keep up with him, and that was exactly why nobody would ever even compare.

"Uchiha Sasuke, I promise you..."

…...

Sasuke -

"Uzumaki Naruto, rest assured..."

…...

Naruto and Sasuke -

"...I WILL BEAT YOU!"

…...

Meanwhile, Haruno Sakura -

While all this transpired, a certain pink-haired girl had just finished her own bath, taking extreme care to dry her hair off the way it was supposed to, combing it and overall stylizing it so it kept its fantastic cherry blossom aroma.

She was currently wearing pink pijamas with Sakura trees on them. Everything was going so perfect! She was on a team with one of the best ninja of the village training them, a genius, Naruto, and her beloved Sasuke-kun.

Could life get any better?

_Little did she know the storm that threatened their lives from the horizon..._

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Alright, Chapter three. I hope you all appreciated it. This time, I had a lot of switches from one side to another in an attempt to try out a new writing style. Tell me what you think. Any suggestions would be fantastic, please follow and favorite if you like it. Any complaints, please send them my way too, that's the only way I can assure the story goes the way you like it.


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